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Wet Wood & Tree & Plant Roots. Gpz7000


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Over the week I went detecting up in the high country before the storms hit. The soil was damp. All of the downed trees and wood debris was also wet. The gpz squaked all day on everything wet. Had to cut the sensitivity back to tone it down. Was running high yield,sensitivity about 9-14. High smoothing. I found 4 little dinks. But the wetness slowed me down a tad. I was being real meticulous too clean out this patch. Nothing was repeatable on the false signals. But just wondering if anyone else has had similar experiences?

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Scott, Mine runs noisy also over wood debris. Madrone roots seem to always give me a nice signal. Its just the nature of the beast we swing and the trade off for the extra sensitivity.

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The GPZ loves big roots...hot rocks and a wet salty dessert.  Reminds me of a  lady friend I used to know...It's a beast that takes some getting used to. I have not had a chance to use it in the wet high sierras.

 

strick

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Hey scott good job on finding some gold. I have had some episodes with vlfs acting up when things are wet. And other times not so much at the same area. Couple years ago after a big winter rain. We went detecting next day in the sun. But everywhere that we swung the gb pro detectors it was noisy. They never stopped making noise. Sounded like a slot machine. We detected the same place many times before after rain with no problems. I talked to a couple other detectorist that detected the same day miles from me and they had same issue with a gpx 5000 and a gb 2. The noises only sounded off over the ground and not in the air. The same area was fine a week later. I talked to a weather guy about the storm and it originated from russia. So maybe they had some radiation issues. I dont know. But it was weird. Never seen that happen again.

Good luck.

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On one of my first trips with the Zed I went out to the desert and got signals in dry ground over cactus roots.  I was tempted to take the first one down but then it happened again and again.

 

I left the cactus.

 

Mitchel

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On one of my first trips with the Zed I went out to the desert and got signals in dry ground over cactus roots.  I was tempted to take the first one down but then it happened again and again.

 

I left the cactus.

 

Mitchel

You will get hot hits at the base of Barrell Cactus and also the roots of Joshua Trees.  These plants take up the mineral rich water that exists in the soil and concentrates it in the roots.  Sure always sounds like a good target until you realize the entire base of the plant sounds the same.  

I would advise against ever digging up any cactus, as many desert plants are protected.  A good rule of thumb is every 30 minutes turn around and look at where you have been.  If it's hard to tell, then you are doing a good job of respecting the environment,

I don't mean to sound preachy because I know most of the ol' timers are careful in their detecting and prospecting,

 

Doc

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GPZ does it and the GPX does too with mono coils on extra/sharp (not as much though). 

 

You can go to salt mode and it helps immensely on the GPX. I'm betting they've been working on some kind of salt mode for the GPZ (if it's possible with ZVT) and if so I'm guessing that should make detecting around vegetation a lot more pleasant if such an update is released.

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 I'm betting they've been working on some kind of salt mode for the GPZ (if it's possible with ZVT) and if so I'm guessing that should make detecting around vegetation a lot more pleasant if such an update is released.

I think you are right there will be much more to come as the software is refined. the gpz has a definite language, it's just a matter of time until ZVT evolves into the features available in VLF technology now and the zed backbone has passed the first update test with flying colors.

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There are certain unpleasant facts of life in metal detector land. One is that gold and certain "not gold" items produce identical signals.

Gold nuggets occur in every form imaginable from solid lumps to collections of wispy hairs. Small to large. Pure gold to gold with varying mixes of silver and copper. Different conglomerations of gold and rock, etc.

Most gold nuggets in many locations are easily detectable. The first easy crop was skimmed off with VLF detectors. The second deeper crop got hit hard by PI detectors.

It is a game of diminishing returns and in most hard hit locations we are now down to cleaning up the leftovers. To do that we have to go after gold previously hidden because it mimics the items we tuned out previously with other detectors.

Roots are an example of a target that mimics the response of certain types of gold. You can go about the issue two ways. A. Use a detector or a setting that ignores the roots. This is nice for those who prefer quiet, well behaved detectors. Simply get a GPX, then experiment to find the coil and setting that ignores the roots. This is where the GPX excels - you can get it set up to ignore most any annoying non-gold signals. Now detect away and find all the gold that does not mimic roots.

But what if you are in an area detected for decades that no longer produces by doing this? Second method B. comes into play. Use a machine or setting that lights up the roots. Now, to the best of your ability, mentally evaluate the signals and decide which to dig and which to ignore. Your ears and mind are the best discrimination system made for detecting. Yes, it is harder and yes, you will dig more non-gold signals. But that is how the game has always been played whether it is coin hunting, jewelry detecting, relic hunting, or prospecting. Invariably when working pounded locations you have to get down and dirty, work harder, and dig more borderline signals. The more you do it however the easier it gets and so this methodology is best for people putting in hundreds of hours a year detecting. You have to use the detector enough to become fluent in its language.

The evolution of the Minelab PI series was in adding more and more ways to eliminate non-gold signals. There are situations where this is the best strategy and for some people who hate a noisy detector it is the only way to go. The GPZ really is much more a Super VLF designed to light up as much gold as possible with one detector and one coil. In doing so it can and will light up other non-gold items as well.

I do think they will do as they did with the GPX and add modes that eliminate salt responses or roots - whatever. Be aware though there is no free lunch and engaging any such mode will come at a certain cost in missed gold. That option is certainly worthwhile in some situations. I am doubtful I am ever going there myself however. The GPZ has returned me to my VLF beginnings and the real art of hunting by ear. The more you use the GPZ the more all the sounds and noise become music to your ears. Right now I would be rather uncomfortable if my detector was not providing me with constant audio feedback. If my GPZ is running dead quiet first thing I do is jack it up until I get some noise back. A perfectly tame detector is just that - tame. It is the difference between driving a nice little commuter car or a twitchy sports car.

My basic view of detecting is it should be enjoyable. Use whatever machines and tuning methods you like to keep you at it. Frustration may cause people to quit and quitters get no gold. But if you are going to go hard core then pushing machines to absolute limits and relying more on ears and mind will ultimately deliver gold in "hunted out" locations that others have missed.

 

Check this out - Electrical Conductivity of Trees http://creating-a-new-earth.blogspot.com/p/earths-internet-electrical-conductivity.html

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